The Races of Arx
The Races of Arx is a book by Cebrafi Nin which discusses each of the civilized races of Arx and the interactions between them. The following is an excerpt of its text: : "Relations between the different races in Arx have always been difficult. : The goblins were the most populous of all the races, due in part to their high fertility rates. However, as they were never able to organize themselves ino a united kingdom, they gradually lost their predominant position. : Fundamentally, goblins are not very intelligent. They have their own language, and mostly speak a kind of pidgin version of the human language. They are always looking for something to find fault with, constantly annoying the person they are talking to. They are liars, arrogant, cowardly, and are extremely lazy. : The only time goblins were the allies of humans was during the time of the great treaty. During this time they helped build the underground kingdom, putting their natural aggression and bad manners aside for a while. However, after the work was complete and they had settled in, they slipped back into their old ways. It seems that trading gemstones is the only peaceful activity even the most tolerant of each race can bear. : Trolls are a different kettle of fish. Even if it seems that their origins are similar to those of the goblins, they are completely different. They are very weak-willed and are creatures that seem to live in slow motion. They are not aggressive, and are much more often benevolent. But their monstrous strength and legendary stamina make them both weighty allies and lethal adversaries. Their existence is made up of the simple things in life, such as finding something to eat, or somewhere to sleep. Because they are mentally weak, they are easy to fool, but woe become anyone who does so if they find out, as their anger is legendary. : The rat-men have always preferred to have very little contact with other races. They communicate in signs rather than in words, sometimes adding in cooing sounds. Rat-men are extremely agile, and thus are formidable adversaries in combat. Some of them are the biggest killers in Arx. They are very subtle and extremely swift. They often use poisoned weapons. They lived underground in the city's sewers when humans still lived above ground. Feeding off easte products and excrement seems to suit them very well. : Until now, the few run-ins we have had with the rat-men have been brief but bloody. They made occasional forays into human cities to rifle through garbage bins looking for food and rudimentary tools. Since they have been hidden underground in the fortress of Arx, they have slowly lost all contact with all the other races and move around with exemplary discretion. : Dwarves have a passion for anything mechanical, for craftsmanship and for anything to do with engineering; they are also the best blacksmiths in the world. They have lived in the underground fortress well before all the other races took residence there as well : They are the only ones who know how to build mines and exploit them properly, and they often sell the products they mine to humans. They have always had an appalling relationship with goblins and wage numerous wars upon them, trying to eliminate them completely. One of their largest mines was chosen as a refuge and the site of the new city of Arx. They also helped to build the basic infrastructures on site and undertook many jobs there (apart from those on the goblin level). As they were already used to living in the depths, they moved further underground and continued to exploit their mines. : The origins of the Sisters of Edurneum is a mystery. They look like hybrids between woman and snakes. Their skin is covered in scales. There seem to be no males in their race and we know nothing about how they reproduce. They are gifted in the use of magic, making them the best magicians in Arx. According to certain legend, they were involved in the very origins of magic. They have always been very close to the human race, helping them at every difficult stage of their development. During their migration, the Sisters promised to help the king of the humans, and created underground plants to feed the inhabitants and their livestock. : Very little is known about dragons. However, scholars have noticed that there are 4815 scales on every specimen studied." Real World The Races of Arx is a book that is seen in the video game Arx Fatalis. Category:Books Category:Arx Fatalis Books